


A Study in Green

by Niko_Niko_Neek



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-13 17:17:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21497698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niko_Niko_Neek/pseuds/Niko_Niko_Neek
Summary: “....Yes?” His voice sounds oddly high pitched even to his own ears, but Lily doesn’t seem to acknowledge this. What she states next, however, removes even the slightest chance of appearing laid back.“Exactly how many times do I have to study with you before you kiss me?”
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Comments: 2
Kudos: 40





	A Study in Green

**Author's Note:**

> Very short fluff piece that's been in my head a while.

There were few things James Potter found more comfortable than the common room in winter.

He wasn’t in the same unfortunate situation as his friend Sirius was in, where Hogwarts was the only real place he could feel safe. But, there was something distinctly comforting about the quiet crackle and snap of the fireplace, the scent of applewood burning up in the chimney. The first few snowfalls of winter had occurred, and Christmas was only a few short weeks away, meaning James had a ready excuse to go out and get some truly extravagant gifts for his friends.

They weren’t difficult to choose for, and he already had the list set up in his mind. For Sirius, a leather jacket from one of the high end stores, to go along with his famous motorbike (only somewhat of an apology for the last time James had borrowed it and nearly wrecked it.) Remus was getting a self-organizing planner, where you could just scribble whatever and the journal would decide what ought to be a list, what notes should go in the margins, that sort of thing. Peter was easy, too-a nice variety of sweets would be enough for him, and James could get that with no issue.

There was only one person who had him truly stumped, and she was currently looking over his shoulder at his transfiguration notes.

“What do you mean by ‘grip correctly’?” Lilly asked, one brow quirking up with interest. “Mcgonagall didn’t mention there being a specific grip for the vanishing spell.”

James swallowed before reaching into his pocket to retrieve his wand. “Well...No. Not exactly,” he replied. It crossed his attention that he was doing the stiff, ‘mature’ voice Sirius often teased him about adopting when in Lily’s presence. He cleared his throat. If they’d been going out a week or so, he was going to need to loosen up and act more like himself.

Well. Maybe not entirely like himself, James reasoned, recalling a vivid incident wherin he’d wound up hanging from a chandelier on the third floor corridor.

“But it helps,” he continued. “See, if you have your thumb on the outside, this way, sort of apart from the other fingers, you can have a bit more room to do the movement.”

There was a unique expression of interest that only Lily Evans seemed to be able to pull off-it happened whenever she was reading a section she found particularly interesting, or was about to raise her hand to ask a question in class. Her green eyes flashed a little, and she quickly withdrew her wand in order to copy the position.

“Are you meant to have your pinky stretched that way?” she asked.

“That’s just how I hold it-here.”

James reached over to adjust her grip, frustrated at his pulse speeding up rapidly at the contact. For the previous two weeks, contact had still been able to pass off as platonic between them, partially due to them both being busy with the dreaded NEWTs, and partially due to his own cowardice. This appears to be casual, but James feels anything but-and, though he suspects a faint dusting of pink beneath her freckles, he figures Lily is more interested in the lesson than their proximity.

“Ah. There we go.” Lily mutters with a small nod of satisfaction. Behind them, the faint creak of the portrait reveals the entrance of another student.

“Hey, love?”

Lily is greeting the person, so James assumes it must be her friend Marlene or someone else. Lily was typical to use familliars like that with her female friends. James adjusts his glasses and continues scanning down his parchment.

“....Hello? I’m talking to you, James.”

His heart almost thuds to a complete standstill. The ‘love’ hadn’t been referring to Marlene at all. Mouth as dry as the parchment he’s writing on, James swallows and forces himself to meet her eyes.

“....Yes?” His voice sounds oddly high pitched even to his own ears, but Lily doesn’t seem to acknowledge this. What she states next, however, removes even the slightest chance of appearing laid back.

“Exactly how many times do I have to study with you before you kiss me?”

A loud cough sounds from James’s chest as he quickly averts his eyes, mind racing. He’d assumed she’d needed the time to focus on the copious amount of homework she’d been getting. With her marks in potions and the other classes, her workload far surpassed his, and James hadn’t wanted to risk distracting her too much.

“I ...Figured that…”

He was seeming to forget how basic words and sentences were formed and, when Lily gives a quiet laugh, the task of speaking is even more impossible.

“I had my exam for Transfiguration days ago. We’re in different periods, remember?” She nudges her shoulder with his, and he can feel the warmth of her arm through his sleeve. 

“....So you’re cheating.” James manages to look at her again. “That’s what you’re doing?”

“That’s a terribly harsh word, Potter,” Lily replied with a grin, and the teasing softness with which she says his surname ought to be declared illegal. “No, truth be told, I think Black has a bet running with a few people, and I’d like him to lose.”

Of course he did.

“I’ve told him to knock that off,” James replied, brow furrowing.

“Yes, because that’ll certainly show him.” Her voice is sarcastic, but she had a point. James’s attention, however, is more centered on what she’s just told him, as well as the fact that they were currently the only ones left in the common room, which somehow made things both better and worse.

“But James?”

“Mhm?” She’s reached over to settle her hand atop his and James has to actively remind himself not to stare at her lips.

Lily’s grin softens. “For being so great at transfiguration…” She leans in close before adding in a playful whisper, “Something you can be really thick.”

She kisses him before he can defend himself.


End file.
